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12 posts from July 2010

July 30, 2010

In the ground breaking book, Reproduce & Revolt, my fellow co-editor, Josh MacPhee, makes a case for the role of artists in reclaiming public space for the purposes of educating the public about issues or agitating them to take action. He explains:

We live and breathe the visual. Our culture depends the most on sight,
and privileges the eyes... As corporations have spent obscene amounts of
money on advertising and product design, they’ve learned a lot of
lessons about how people receive information and the way we all respond
to our visual environment. This is the environment an activist steps
into. In order to radically change society we’re going to need a lot of
people on our side, and we’re going to have to be able to convince them a
new and better world is possible. But we aren’t on a level playing
field. The audience we are trying to reach is already being attacked by
upwards of 2000 advertising messages a day!

One of the reasons that the poster is my medium of choice is due to its ability to be reproduced and to exist in various locations at on time. Unlike a painting which may hang in a gallery, a poster can hang in the grungiest of places and still blend in like part of the landscape. The fact that posters are often printed on paper gives it a lower per-unit value and so posters are more likely to stay up than say, a banner. Plus they are light, relatively to transport, and can be folded, rolled, wheatpasted, given away, shipped at minimal costs, and reused for other things like shipping!

Art that deals with political issues provides an opportunity for both the artists and the viewer to think critically about an issue, to ask questions, to inquire about alternatives, and to imagine a reality other than the status quo. In my artistic practice, I try to place my work in public spaces where people are doing activities such as waiting or spaces where people day dream. This includes lobbies, classrooms, waiting rooms, bus corners, bus stops and mass transit vehicles. I'm a bit bored with just doing posters so in recent years I have began branching out to other mediums, including online mediums. Recently, I've been discovering some awesome instances of artists reclaiming public space. Here are some notable examples which include some of my own work:

CAPITALISM IS OVER IF YOU WANT IT, by Paz de la Calzada & Eliza Barrios (San Francisco, CA)

Artist Statement: "By are using news stands located along Market and Montgomery Street as "vehicles to deliver information", we intend to send bi/weekly messages through the windows of these structures. Altering the visual landscape of the pedestrian/urban environment, the messages will be a mixture of iconography and slogans that call attention to the economy, consumerism and un-sustainability of the capitalistic culture." See more by clicking here

ARTIST AGAINST THE GRAIN, Film by Ann Kaneko (Lima, Peru)

Artists each held an oversize letter sign and stood in front of the National Palace of Justice, where laws get made.
For every artist, the need to create and be heard is as basic as food
and shelter. But what happens when you live in a country where the state
clamps down on free thinkers, forcing artists to censure themselves? Read more by clicking here

I recently completed a piece with Y4C depicting local youth and their demands to the city government. The final design is rolling around Providence on 35 buses. The youth demands on the banners include, "Right to Employment, Right to Health, & the Right to Education." The youth in the piece are members of Y4C.

Artist Statement reads: The CDC recognizes that our colleagues in the Israeli Defense Force
(IDF) may require additional support and financing as they expand
Israeli jurisdiction into international waters. Annual US aid to Israel
will increase to only $3.15 billion by 2013. Although our Israeli allies
are thankful for such generosity, the CDC believes that America can do
better. In order to encourage additional tax-supported financial
donations for Israel, the CDC launched the “Blank Check” billboard
campaign. The corrected billboards read, “THANKS FOR THE BLANK
CHECK, AMERICA,” featuring a US Treasury bank note for $7,000,000. The
amount is a daily average of America’s $2.70 billion aid package for
Israel in fiscal year 2010. Read more by clicking here

July 29, 2010

I'm in awe of my fellow activists and artists for this action they did today in downtown Phoenix. "In a daring act of civil disobedience in downtown Phoenix this evening,
at least four activists occupied a tall crane near Central Avenue and
Jefferson Street and deployed a huge banner that read "Stop the Hate,"
with red lines crossing out "287(g)" and "1070," reported the Phoenix New Times.

I'm touched by the fact that these folks are risking their life to share a message. As an artist, I am constantly looking for ways to inject art with a message into the public sphere. This is a prime example here. A message that cuts into a shared public space, to be seen by thousands. It serves as a reminder of what we must all do to fight this crisis. In their message, the group said some powerful words:

We came to Arizona to support those at the epicenter of one of the
largest human rights crises of our time. We join Archbishop Desmond
Tutu, Cardinal Mahoney, and an outraged global community in denouncing
SB 1070 in its entirety.

We know a partial injunction is not a solution for the people already
living under Sheriff Arpaio's terror, the day laborers who will be
treated as criminals, or the communities soon to see their police
enforcing immigration laws.

July 22, 2010

There are very few songs that make me cry, and one of those songs is Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's (Iz) "Over the Rainbow." The song reminds me of many things, including the first few times that I visited Hawaii and understood the powerful energy of this place. It reminds me of driving through the island highways and staring at the beautiful sea. Most importantly, what I hear in Iz's music is his sadness for his people and his land. "As someone who actually lived in a land of rainbows, he knew its struggles well: poverty and cultural dispossession, especially along the Wai'anae Coast of O'ahu," explains Hana Hou Magazine.

I arrived to Maui on July 11th for an artist in residence program at the Hui No'eau Visual Arts Center. Each time I am in Hawaii, I make it a point to reconnect with Native Hawaiian music and culture, and so Iz is someone I always try to listen to, to reground me and remind me about this land. Here is the video of his beautiful song, "Over the Rainbow". One of the most touching parts happens at the end when people are swimming in the sea while his ashes get disbursed into the water. It helps me understand the power of his craft and just how deeply he touched people, especially his beloved Hawaiian people.

Iz recorded this medley in 1993 when his health was already failing. He recorded it at 2:30 am at the spur of the moment, in 20 minutes. 20 simple minutes. Iz, the genius of a musician, created a piece that would touch everyone around the world for years to come. While I have been here in Maui, I think of Bruddah Iz and hope that his creative genius will touch me so that I may create in my fullest potential.

During this time in Maui, I am going through some emotionally challenging time, but I try my best to stay focused on my work and I make art to deal with all the voices in my head. I also try to stay busy, because in doing, writing, creating - we gain clarity. I get full access to an awesome print studio which was set up by Master Printer, Paul Mullowney. I get up at 6:00 or 7:00 am and walk to the studio, and stay as late as 11 pm. The print studio was set up originally as Hui Press, but is sadly no longer in operation. But I still feel the energy of the great artists that were here before: Enrique Chagoya, Artemio Rodriguez, Swoon & Sandow Birk. I sometimes walk around the studio looking for little signs that they were here. (Photo Above: This is the sunset view from the studio)

Here is some stuff that I have been producing. I am focusing mostly on sharp angles because of the way the trees line up near the house I'm staying in. I walked around this area and was impacted at the angles the trees created with their sharp branches. These are monoprints:

July 16, 2010

The much anticipated sticker exhibit PEEL HERE is opening this weekend, July 17th, in Los Angeles and will be up for two weeks. Organized by Sticky Rick, one of LA's go-to-guys for sticker printing - this show is bound to be a success. Already it has sold pieces before the opening and has been publicized in Juxtapose and the LA Weekly. The event attracts more than 800 people to Self Help Graphics, the East LA screenprint studio where I launched my career as a printmaker.

I have a piece in the show and am happy to be in the company of some all star artists! Including Man One, Ernesto Yerena, Vyal One, Robbie Conal, Lalo Alcaraz, & the London Police. You can expect some massive sticker slap walls, sticker trading,
sticker printing by the awesome Hit & Run crew.

July 15, 2010

The baddest, raddest, dopest, coolest, sexiest, dorkiest, craziest, weirdest, talentedest art collective - The TALLER TUPAC AMARU, has just been named the Best Political Art Collective in the BEST OF THE BAY 2010 Awards by the East Bay Express. I co-founded this taller with Jesus Barraza back in 2003. Thanks to Estria and Tony & TUMIS who had our backs to make this endeavour possible. Later we would be joined by the uber talented Melanie Cervantes.

I'm so happy about this recognition. You can hear an indepth interview by our fellow collective member (from the other collective we are a part of, Justseeds) by clicking here.

The article reads:

The three can be found making screen-printed political posters in
Rodriguez's small backyard studio in Oakland. Their provocative and
lively prints are also distributed to nonprofits and grassroots
organizations, with themes such as anti-war, police brutality, and
immigration.

One thing they left out of the article was any mention of the three furry creatures that accompany us when we work, and that is Shoyu, Minerva and Pisco - my dogs! They provide lots of hours of whining at Jesus and sleeping at Melanie's feet.

July 14, 2010

If you are in the Chicago area, you can find an art piece of mine at the COPY JAM coming on July 30th! Its being organized by the awesome blog, PRINTERESTING. This is one of more cooler art show concepts I have run into recently. I love the idea of using an old copy machine to reproduce work. It's great to see how folks can interact with the artwork by taking copies of it.

This Summer, PRINTERESTING wants to meet our readers in the Windy City! On Friday July 30, we will host an encore performance of our Copy Jam! at the Printers' Ball at Luddington Building in beautiful, downtown Chicago, IL. The Ball is co-sponsored by Poetry magazine as well as the Center for Book and Paper Arts at Columbia College and the Student Affairs Offices at Columbia College. Because the Printers' Ball has its roots in the literary world, we asked all participating artists to give us work that incorporates text in some way.

"COPY JAM!" will be an interactive print event. During the party, fifty works by fifty artists will be displayed in a grid on the wall. Upon arrival, each guest will be handed a complimentary ticket that can be exchanged for one black & white photocopy of any work the guest chooses. There will be no sales; one ticket equals one copy. Copies will be made LIVE in the gallery for one night only from 6-9PM!

All are welcome, and we hope to see you there.

Additional information on Printeresting's Copy Jam! is available HERE and more information regarding The Printers' Ball is available HERE.

I've never seen my art on so many places as I do now! My 2008 poster, Make Out Not War, is, as they say in Spanish, "Hasta en la Sopa!" That means I see it even in my soup!

This piece was launched in 2008 at the Democratic National Convention and was commissioned by CodePink. It was previously only available in poster format, but now you can get this image on greeting cards, postcards, posters and shirts. (click on links for more info)

In 1998, I was an intern for the Center for the Study of Political Graphics in Los Angeles. It was here where I was inspired to become a political poster artist. While working at Mission Grafica, in San Francisco, from 2001-2002 Jesus was mentored by Juan R. Fuentes, Calixto Robles and Michael Roman who taught him about the many applications of screen printing. In 2007, Melanie Cervantes joined the studio after learning how to screen print at Laney Community College in Oakland.

The three of us just did a super cool interview while we were at the US Social Forum.

Jesus and Melanie work together as Dignidad Rebelde, a graphic arts collaboration that follows principles of Xicanisma and Zapatismo, to create work that translates people’s stories of resistance and resilience into art that can be put back into the hands of the communities who inspire it. They believe representing these movements through visual art means connecting struggles through images that inspire solidarity among communities of struggle worldwide. Click here to see more of their work.